Salomon Islands

{{Short description|Island in the Indian Ocean}} {{distinguish|Solomon Islands}} {{more citations needed|date=October 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}} [[File:Salomon Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory.svg|thumb|right|The Salomon Islands (islands are shown in dark green)]] [[File:Salomons Atoll in the Chagos.jpg|thumb|right|Salomon Atoll]]

The '''Salomon Islands''' or '''Salomon Atoll''' is a small [[atoll]] of the [[Chagos Archipelago]] in the Indian Ocean.

==Description== The atoll is located in the northeast of the [[Chagos Archipelago]], between [[Blenheim Reef]] and [[Peros Banhos]]. The main islands in the group are Île Boddam, with the former main settlement, and a land area of {{convert|1.08|km2|mi2|abbr=on|2}}, and Île Anglaise ({{convert|0.82|km2|mi2|disp=comma|abbr=on|2}}), both on the western rim of the reef. There were smaller settlements of [[Chagossians]] in Fouquet ({{convert|0.45|km2|mi2|abbr=on|disp=comma|2}}) and Takamaka ({{convert|0.48|km2|mi2|abbr=on|disp=comma|2}}) Islands. Île de la Passe is {{convert|0.28|km2|mi2|abbr=on|2}} in area, and Île Mapou {{convert|0.04|km2|mi2|abbr=on|2}}. The remaining islets are much smaller. The total land area is {{convert|3.56|km2|mi2|abbr=on|2}}.

There is a passage into the [[lagoon]], named Baie de Salomon, on the Northern side, between Île Anglaise and Île de la Passe. The Salomon Islands are one of the favorite anchoring spots for itinerant [[yachtsmen]] passing through the Chagos, even though there are no proper moorings for yachts and a permit of the BIOT authorities is needed. Now uninhabited, the islands are overrun by low [[jungle]] between the [[coconut]] trees and it is hard to find the traces of the former settlements.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://hackingfamily.com/cruise_info/Indian/Chagos_Cruising.htm |title=Cruising Chagos |access-date=25 September 2011 |archive-date=13 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213103527/http://hackingfamily.com/Cruise_Info/Indian/Chagos_Cruising.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thevoyageofbluesky.com/Boddam.html |title=Ile Boddam, Saloman Island, Chagos, BIOT, 2009 |access-date=25 September 2011 |archive-date=2 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402223548/http://www.thevoyageofbluesky.com/Boddam.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==History== [[File:Église Boddam.JPG|thumb|Abandoned church on Boddam Island, Salomon Atoll]] This atoll was settled in the last half of the 18th century by coconut plantation workers from [[Isle de France (Mauritius)|Isle de France]] (now [[Mauritius]]). Little is known about the condition of the workers who were mostly of [[African diaspora|African]] origin. Most probably they lived in conditions close to [[slavery]]. The company exploiting the plantation was called the [[Chagos Agalega Company]].

The Salomon Islands were surveyed in 1837 by Commander [[Robert Moresby]] of the Indian Navy on HMS ''Benares''. Moresby's survey produced the first detailed map of this atoll. The atoll was surveyed again in 1905 by Commander B.T. Sommerville on {{HMS|Sealark|1903|6}}, who drew a more accurate map. Some of the Salomon Islands were inhabited by the [[Chagossians]], but at the time that the British Government decided to empty the Chagos of local inhabitants, only Île Boddam was inhabited.

Between 1967 and 1973, 500 inhabitants of the Salomon Islands were evicted by the British and their pets were killed in gas chambers by [[Bruce Greatbatch|Sir Bruce Greatbatch]] in order to make way for an [[Chagossians#Eviction|American military base]]. The evictees were resettled in [[Mauritius]] and [[Seychelles]].<ref name="SNA_evictees">{{cite web|last1=Lablache|first1=John|last2=Amla|first2=Hajira|title=Re-opening old wounds: Chagossians in Seychelles tell of trip to visit home islands|url=http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/3041/Re-opening+old+wounds+Chagossians+in+Seychelles+tell+of+trip+to+visit+home+islands|website=Seychelles News Agency|accessdate=14 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="EversKooy2011">{{cite book|author1=Sandra Evers|author2=Marry Kooy|title=Eviction from the Chagos Islands: Displacement and Struggle for Identity Against Two World Powers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q-sQISQZKhoC&pg=PA201|year=2011|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-20260-3|pages=201–}}</ref> Île Boddam had a jetty, shops, offices, a school, a church and a villa where the plantation manager lived. All these buildings are now hidden by thick jungle. There are wells on Boddam and Takamaka islands{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}} which are still used by yachtsmen to replenish their supplies.<ref>[http://www.taniwani.de/R2007-01.htm 1st Report for 2007: Thailand, Malaysia, Maldives and Chagos (1 Feb – 22 May)]</ref>

== Islets == [[File:Boddam2.jpg|thumb|Boddam Island and small Ile Diable to the right]] The individual islets of the atoll are, starting in the North, clockwise:

#Île de la Passe #Île Mapou #Île Takamaka #Île Fouquet #Île Sepulture #Île Jacobin #Île du Sel #Île Poule #Île Boddam #Île Diable #Île Anglaise

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == {{commons category}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20140606213006/http://www.chagos.org/geo/carte-salomon.jpg Map of Salomon Islands] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20100316045413/http://www.aliisa.net/voyage/chagos.html Chagos Archipelago]

[[Category:Atolls of the Chagos Archipelago]] [[Category:Former populated places in the Indian Ocean]] [[Category:Geography of the British Indian Ocean Territory]]